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Landsat and Beyond Sustaining and Enhancing the Nation's Land Imaging Program (2013) / Chapter Skim
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2 Technical Characteristics of the Core Program
Pages 20-26

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From page 20...
... Sustainability can be achieved by developing an operational observing system whereby satellites will be designed and launched to provide a continuous stream of land images and data, similar to the policy articulated in the 2010 National Space Policy.3 Compared to other spaceborne moderate-resolution sensors, longterm continuity has distinguished the Landsat sensor suite. The committee's definition of an "operational" program preserves continuity as the main goal: design the satellite system and launch schedule to provide a continuous stream of land images and data, implicitly requiring strategies to contend with future instrument or launch failures.
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From page 21...
... RBV and MSS 6 bits 18 days 900 km January 22, 1975 February 5, 1982 Landsat 3 March 5, 1978 March 31, 1983 Landsat 4 July 16, 1982 June 15, 2001 MSS and TM 8 bits 16 days 705 km TM: November 2011 Landsat 5 March 1, 1984 MSS: January 6, 2013 Landsat 6 ETM 8 bits 16 days 705 km Launch failed October 5, 1993 Landsat 7 ETM+ 8 bits 16 days 705 km April 15, 1999 Landsat 8 (LDCM) OLI and TIRS 12 bits 16 days 705 km February 11, 2013 NOTE: ETM, Enhanced Thematic Mapper; MSS, Multispectral Scanning System; OLI, Operational Land Imager; RBV, Return Beam Vidicon; TIRS, Thermal Infrared Sensor; TM, Thematic Mapper.
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From page 22...
... and license restricted, and the systems do not have the large synoptic geographic footprint of Landsat data. In the United States, the USDA National Agriculture Imagery Program subcontracts for suborbital aerial photography every 2-3 years and provides 1-m resolution imagery to the public domain at no cost.
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From page 23...
... . The studies also note that users of Landsat data are overwhelmingly government agencies, academic institutions, and nongovernmental organizations, with commercial entities constituting only a small fraction of users, about 18 percent.11 Additionally, almost half of the users employ Landsat data to support operational decision making, with the remainder performing scientific research.12 The ASPRS study found that the characteristics of Landsat imagery most valued by users in order of priority are its low cost, SWIR bands, existence of the archive, the thermal band, and its moderate spatial resolution.
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From page 24...
... Other examples of applications made possible by free and easy access to Landsat imagery include monitoring consumptive outdoor water usage, updating global land use or land cover maps, forest health monitoring, national agricultural commodities mapping, flood mitigation mapping, forest 13  Approximately $15 for photographic prints and $200 per data set. See http://remotesensing.usgs.gov/landsat_fees.php and National O ­ ceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 1983, Landsat data users notes: [Sioux Falls, S.D.]
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From page 25...
... It is no coincidence that these requirements echo the present capability of the Landsat sensor suite, because assuring continuity of the ongoing data stream is the key aim for the future program. The following requirements would satisfy a broad range of key federal and nonfederal users, both scientific and operational: • Spatial resolution -- 30 m except in the thermal band, which would have coarser spatial resolution.
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From page 26...
... Recommendations The top priorities for the Sustained and Enhanced Land Imaging Program (SELIP) should be to ensure that the core program provides for continuity of Landsat products and coverage on a secure and sustainable path.
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Key Terms

  • spatial resolution
  • landsat imagery
  • land imaging
  • core program
  • technical characteristics

  • temporal resolution
  • national space
  • imaging program
  • space policy
  • thermal band

  • landsat advisory
  • landsat sensor
  • data products
  • commercial remote
  • land images

  • national geospatial
  • enhanced land
  • seven successful
  • sensor characteristics
  • spectral bands

  • goddard space
  • policy future
  • nasa goddard
  • sensing survey
  • space flight

  • thematic mapper
  • flight center
  • house office
  • continuous stream
  • agricultural monitoring


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